Heartbeat
by Togane Shiro
Summary: /Eren closed his eyes, listening closely to that beautiful sound. The pulse of life./


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_**Heartbeat**_

_**Shingeki no Kyojin © Isayama Hajime**_

_A/N: Inspired from the song_ 心拍数 0822 _by ChouchouP, I recommend listening to them while reading. Collections of drabble. Possibly OOC and so many repetitions on vocabularies orz_

* * *

"It synchronised!"

The older man was startled and snapped his eyes open while the younger one was hugging him with head on his chest. "What does?" He rubbed his eyes and yawned. He glanced over to the clock hanging above the door of his room and noticed that it was still 3 in the morning.

"Ah, sorry, Corporal Levi. Was I too loud?" he looked up and saw Levi with his sleepy look and bed hair. It was such a rare sight, he should say. He was so grateful to be one of them who could see this side of Levi.

"Nah, it's okay, Eren. So, what synchronised?" he asked with low volume, almost like a whisper, probably still too sleepy to talk louder. He shifted a bit and pulled up the cover until it reached Eren's neck. It was still too early so he decided to return to his slumber.

Eren smiled, and put his ear on Levi's chest again, "Our heartbeat."

* * *

_"Offer your heart_, and with that, our hearts belong to the king," Eren uttered. He was just standing beside Levi's desk doing nothing, waiting to be ordered by the lance corporal. As for the lance corporal himself, he's too busy with his paperwork and had been ignoring Eren.

This kind of thing had happened tons of times before, and that was when Eren found talking to Levi without getting responded wasn't so bad compared to having to keep silent all the time. And Levi himself found listening to Eren talk, merely listening to his voice, wasn't so bad.

That was why this had kind of turned into a habit for both of them.

"Then, do you know why our heart is still beating, even when it's not ours again, Corporal?" Eren continued, he held his hand close to his chest to feel the heartbeat. It was still there.

It was right before Levi took a sip of his coffee; he stopped his action for a second. Then, he put is cup down and continued to give the attention to the documents in front of him without even responding to Eren.

Eren smiled, "It is to tell us that we are still living. It is shouting _'I'm still alive_'. So that we know there is still something we need to keep alive. So that we will fight and survive. And so that we will protect others that are still living."

He took the empty cup Levi had just finished; it was his duty to refill that cup. So, he went to the door, but just when he reached the doorknob, he asked once again, "Then, Corporal, my heart is always beating faster whenever I am with you, do you know why that is?"

Eren turned around to Levi and continued, "Because it is shouting way more times than usual; shouting '_I love you_' all the time."

* * *

"Hey, stop it, Eren."

Levi had tried to push Eren away, but that guy always stuck back to him. Levi sighed, he was trying to sleep but with how Eren snuggled up to him, it was difficult even to move. How could he get a good rest when it's that hot? "Tch, what are you, a freak?"

Eren chuckled, "It's funny to hear that from you, Corporal. But I simply want to be close to you. Feeling the warmth of your body, your breath on my skin, listening to you talk, your heartbeat, simply knowing you're alive."

Losing hundreds of soldiers each expedition made them know the meaning life. You were given one, but it could also be taken anytime. It may be you tomorrow, or it may not be you.

"We're going to survive, right, Corporal?"

It was a hard question; Levi didn't dare to give an answer. He could not promise a bright future to Eren, he realised they were living in a cruel era. He wanted to hold Eren's hand and told him, 'Y_es, we are going to survive. We'll spend the rest of our lives outside the wall and die old._'

But he could not.

Instead, he apologised to Eren, "Sorry, I could not promise you that."

Eren somehow knew what kind of answer he would get. It's not surprising.

"But," Levi added, "I promise to protect you until this heart stops beating. Is that okay with you?"

Eren smiled, that was a relief. At least he knew they would be together even when they're dying. "Yes, then I'll do the same. I'll protect you until this heart stops beating also. That way I'm positive I'll die without regret."

"I'm glad to have met you, Eren."

"Me too, Corporal."

* * *

Eren hugged Levi tight, his head buried on Levi's shoulder, not moving an inch.

"Tch. Oi, shitty brat. Move now or you'll regret later." It annoyed Levi so much, Eren was dirty of blood, his hands, legs, even his uniform. And of course Levi wouldn't want that to stain on him; blood reeks, and they are difficult to clean when they are not cleaned immediately. "Oi, Eren Yeager!"

"I won't move unless I'm sure you're okay." Instead of loosening the hug, he tightened it. "You don't know my heart nearly stopped when you almost got eaten by that damn titan!"

Levi pulled on Eren's hair, it made him release the hug and flinched in pain. But then Levi pushed Eren's head to his chest, "Here, my heart is still beating, right!? You're the one who said the heart would shout '_I'm alive_' all the time. Now, did your ear ruptured of its cry, shitty brat?"

Eren closed his eyes, listening closely to that beautiful sound. The pulse of life.

_Thump. Thump. Thump._

"I know I may seem cruel, saying this right after the death of our comrades. But thank you for being alive, Corporal." Eren gritted his teeth and clenched his fist, "Thank you," he added, but this time with a whisper.

* * *

"What is this?"

"Did you go blind, shitty brat, that's a ring."

Eren still couldn't believe his eyes. Levi asked him to close his eyes and held his hand out, so he did as ordered. Then when he opened his eyes, a silver ring was already attached to his ring finger. It was not the most beautiful ring he had ever seen. Rather, it was simple without cravings. It was so plain.

But it fitted perfectly on his finger.

Levi noticed the shades of red on Eren's cheeks not long after. It was too visible, he would say. Eren was still staring at his finger as if it had never been there. Levi furrowed his eyebrow and clicked his tongue, "Do you think I couldn't even afford a single ring? Stop staring at it or I'll take it back."

"Don't! Please don't!" Eren hid his left hand behind him, "I-It's not like I don't believe you could afford a ring. After all, you're one with such high rank. It's just..."

"Just what?"

He hesitated a moment, then he swallowed, "Doesn't a ring usually means... marriage?"

"Then that's just what it means."

Eren couldn't help but blush harder. Levi was staring straight at him and that was embarrassing to him. Being proposed to like that (at least he think it was a proposal). He parted his lips, about to answer, but Levi stopped him with putting his finger on Eren's lips.

"You don't need to say it out as I already knew the answer, and I wouldn't accept a _no _anyway."

Eren burst out laughing, "What's with that? That was not a proposal after all."

Levi pulled the belt on Eren's chest and the gap between the two faces went to an inch apart. Of course with that Eren stopped laughing and looked all nervous now, he thought the corporal was going to hit him. "Now stop laughing already, shitty brat."

It was barely visible, but due to the distance between their faces, Eren saw the light pink on corporal's face. Eren smiled, "Ah, sorry, Corporal. Then, that means from now on we're newlyweds, right?"

* * *

_**End.**_

* * *

_A/N: Man, this is short. AND FINALLY A FANFICTION WHERE NEITHER OF THEM DIED. Ah, I'm really in love with this song so I made this fanfiction. The ending's kinda off, though._


End file.
